--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mankind has been punished long and…" description: "\"Mankind has been punished long and heavily for having created its gods; nothing but pain and persecution have been man's lot since gods began.\" — Emma ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/emma-goldman-774_has-beens_mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavi_1492249.png" --- # Mankind has been punished long and heavily for having… ![“Mankind has been punished long and heavily for having created its gods; nothing but pain and persecution have been man's lot since gods began.” quote by Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/emma-goldman-774_has-beens_mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavi_1492249.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/emma-goldman-774_has-beens_mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavi_1492249.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/emma-goldman-774_has-beens_mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavi_1492249.png) > “Mankind has been punished long and heavily for having created its gods; nothing but pain and persecution have been man's lot since gods began.” [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human creation of gods leads to suffering and oppression, suggesting liberation from imposed deities. **In simple terms:** Creating gods brings pain and persecution. Key Takeaway Seek freedom from oppressive belief systems. Themes religion oppression freedom human suffering Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political movements - secular education - personal enlightenment - social reform Key Concepts theology authority social control Questions to Reflect On - What role do belief systems play in society? - Can spirituality exist without oppression? A Different Perspective Not all belief systems cause oppression; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Persecution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persecution/) ## Related quotes > [And for all his life it would be kindness and love that made him cry, never pain or persecution, which on the contrary only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/and-for-all-his-life-it-would-be-kindness-and-love-that-made-him-cry/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Often in the past he had wondered what it would be like to be subjected (soma-less and with nothing but his own inward resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/often-in-the-past-he-had-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The philosophy of Atheism has its root in the earth, in this life; its aim is the emancipation of the human race from all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-philosophy-of-atheism-has-its-root-in-the-earth-in-this-life-its/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [If we go back to the beginning, we shall find that ignorance and fear created the gods; that fancy, enthusiasm, or deceit adorned them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/if-we-go-back-to-the-beginning-we-shall-find-that-ignorance-and-fear-2/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Fear created the first gods in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caecilius-statius/fear-created-the-first-gods-in-the-world/) Caecilius Statius > [“The belief of an infinity of creative and created Gods, each more eminently requiring an intelligent author of his being than the foregoing, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-belief-of-an-infinity-of-creative-and-created-gods-each-more-2/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“...The Devil would not have begun by an open and obvious sin to tempt man into doing something which God had forbidden, had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-of-hippo/the-devil-would-not-have-begun-by-an-open-and-obvious-sin-to-tempt/) [Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-of-hippo/) > [During the youthful period of mankind's spiritual evolution human fantasy created gods in man's own image, who, by the operations of their will were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/during-the-youthful-period-of-mankind-s-spiritual-evolution-human/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“The belief of an infinity of creative and created Gods, each more eminently requiring an intelligent author of his being than the foregoing, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-belief-of-an-infinity-of-creative-and-created-gods-each-more/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“If we go back to the beginning we shall find that ignorance and fear created the gods; that fancy, enthusiasm, or deceit adorned or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach-2/if-we-go-back-to-the-beginning-we-shall-find-that-ignorance-and-fear/) Baron D. Holbach > [In the beginning of their end, people created their gods and their after-lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-miller/in-the-beginning-of-their-end-people-created-their-gods-and-their/) [Ryan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-miller/) > [Fear first created the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/fear-first-created-the-gods/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [If we go back to the beginnings of things, we shall always find that ignorance and fear created the gods; that imagination, rapture and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/if-we-go-back-to-the-beginnings-of-things-we-shall-always-find-that/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [“One of Richard Dawkins’s main God Delusion arguments is that, if God created everything, we would have to ask who created God. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-lennox/one-of-richard-dawkins-s-main-god-delusion-arguments-is-that-if-god/) [John C. Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-lennox/) > [“It was suffering and incapacity that created all afterworlds - this, and that brief madness of bliss which is experienced only by those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-was-suffering-and-incapacity-that-created-all-afterworlds-this-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Emma Goldman > [Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! All wars are wars among thieves who are too cowardly to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/poor-human-nature-what-horrible-crimes-have-been-committed-in-thy/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Lack of fairness to an opponent is essentially a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/lack-of-fairness-to-an-opponent-is-essentially-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice-2/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Only when human sorrows are turned into a toy with glaring colors will baby people become interested - for a while at least. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/only-when-human-sorrows-are-turned-into-a-toy-with-glaring-colors/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [More pernicious than the power of a dictator is that of a class; the most terrible - the tyranny of a majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/more-pernicious-than-the-power-of-a-dictator-is-that-of-a-class-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Love, the strongest and deepest element in all life, the harbinger of hope, of joy, of ecstasy; love, the definer of all laws, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/love-the-strongest-and-deepest-element-in-all-life-the-harbinger-of/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Whether our reformers admit it or not, the economic and social inferiority of women is responsible for prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/whether-our-reformers-admit-it-or-not-the-economic-and-social/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The free expression of the hopes and aspirations of a people is the greatest and only safety in a sane society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-free-expression-of-the-hopes-and-aspirations-of-a-people-is-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Someone has said that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/someone-has-said-that-it-requires-less-mental-effort-to-condemn-than/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The persecution of the innovator and protestant has always been inspired by fear on the part of constituted authority of having its infallibility questioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-persecution-of-the-innovator-and-protestant-has-always-been/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Order derived through submission and maintained by terror is not much of a safe guaranty; yet that is the only "order" that governments have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/order-derived-through-submission-and-maintained-by-terror-is-not-much/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life, individual and social.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Salvation lies in an energetic march onward towards a brighter and clearer future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/salvation-lies-in-an-energetic-march-onward-towards-a-brighter-and/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The more hideous the mental contortions, the greater the delight and bravos of the mass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-more-hideous-the-mental-contortions-the-greater-the-delight-and/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) [Explore all 368 Emma Goldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## More Has beens quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/) [Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) Browse all 17,972 Has beens quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mankind has been punished long and heavily for having created its gods; nothing but pain and persecution have been man's lot since gods began.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emma Goldman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavily-for-having-created-its/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Has beens" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavily-for-having-created-its/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/emma-goldman-774_has-beens_mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavi_1492249.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/emma-goldman-774_has-beens_mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavi_1492249.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/emma-goldman-774_has-beens_mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavi_1492249.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mankind has been punished long and heavily for having created its gods; nothing but pain and persecution…” — Emma Goldman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emma Goldman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Mankind has been punished long and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavily-for-having-created-its/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/mankind-has-been-punished-long-and-heavily-for-having-created-its/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```